Twice The Trouble Book 2 of 2: Twice The Love

Chapter 68: Shattered

Lucas

There were two days left before Christmas when Sophia needed to go to Snack Attack one last time to receive her final salary and to return her uniform. Her six-month contract with the restaurant had finally expired.

Bob, her boss, had already found replacements for all the employees, and they would be starting after New Year's eve.

"Fudge, nature's calling," Sophia said just as we entered the mall that Friday morning. She gave me an embarrassed smile before telling me: "Hold my bag for a second, I'll be quick!" she handed me her green backpack before scurrying off to the nearest comfort room.

I started to laugh at her urgency, but my laughter got extinguished when I became aware of the bag in my arms: Sophia's phone was inside of this backpack..

If I picked up her phone, supposed I learned something about Sophia, something I didn't know or might not want to know? Would it affect the way I felt about her? Would it make me throw in the towel and storm away without ever looking back?

I tried to fit the pieces together. Whoever sent the emails not only knew that Sophia and I were together and also knew my email address, but was also bold enough to suggest that I would learn something that Sophia was keeping under wraps.

The implication, again, was that someone wanted to break us up.

But who? Granted, everyone in Orion University knew Sophia and I were a couple, and a lot of people such as classmates, professors, and co-workers had my email address; few, however, knew that Sophia was hiding something.

I didn't know what, but with the emails still playing in my mind, I found myself reaching inside her backpack and producing the black phone.

While the lock screen wallpaper made my lips stretch into a smile, I felt exasperated by the requirement of a password, specifically a PIN number.

I hurriedly attempted at possible codes she may use. 0604 (Her birthday) was rejected.

0525 (My birthday) was also wrong.

0623 (The day we became official) got declined as well.

I felt a tweak of annoyance at the perplexity of my girlfriend's password. What other special dates could she have chosen for her phone's password?

"6716," a voice said, making me jump.

I turned to see Sophia smiling,but her smile didn't quite reach her brown eyes. "S-Sophia."

"6716," she reiterated as she hit the numbers on her phone, unlocking it. "June 7, 2016. That was the day we first met in Orion," she explained in a serene voice. "You helped me with a stack of handouts in the hallway, remember?"

I nodded, my heart rate slowing down. "I remember."

Sophia grabbed her black phone from my hand. "Were you looking for something in my phone?"

I blinked twice. "I was just curious," I prevaricated, intentionally deviating from the truth.

My girlfriend's smile faltered. "We need to talk about something later."

"Yeah," I replied with an inward sigh. "Okay."

Sophia

"Well, if it isn't the bacon advocate," drawled Laurence as I approached him.

I raised a brow. "Big words from a meat delegate," I retorted, smiling.

While Stacy and Felicia mutually ignored each other as we waited for Bob to sign his name on all four checks, Bryce and Lucas killed time on their phones while seated at a nearby table.